Deloitte City Mobility Index launched today

Links Integration and Innovation to Mobility Performance

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New York, NY, 8 JANUARY 2018–Helsinki, London and Singapore are among the world’s best city mobility systems, according to a new index launched by Deloitte UK. The Deloitte City Mobility Index goes beyond present-day transportation issues and looks forward to offer a comprehensive review of key aspects of mobility in 18 cities. It features a custom-created Future of Mobility metric that rates how well cities use technological developments and disruptive elements to provide novel solutions to age-old problems. And because mobility plays a central role in a city’s economic prosperity, the rewards for getting it right are potentially great.

The index sets out to create a new and better way for city officials, transport operators and public planners to gauge the readiness of their transport networks to embrace the rapid changes occurring in the transportation ecosystem, known as Future of Mobility. Deloitte UK believes cities that move their citizens efficiently, inclusively, sustainably and in an integrated way will be the most successful in terms of productivity, liveability and flexibility.

Key Insights from the first wave

The Index is a collection of conscious choices based on a vision of what smart urban mobility should look like, with intermodal journeys, active transportation options (e.g. sidewalks and bike lanes), and public transit playing a prominent role.

The key findings were quite clear:

Some of the cities we looked at are centuries old, the product of countless choices made by political leaders, businesses, and residents over time. But the most successful ones have shown a remarkable ability to overcome their circumstances through new approaches.

Having multiple regulatory providers inhibits a smoothly functioning and integrated transportation system—and integration is key to success. Having multiple regulatory authorities and service providers also appears to be correlated with a lower ability or willingness to explore innovative solutions.

Our analysis—and many others’—reveals a number of deleterious consequences from overreliance on private autos: congestion, pollution, accidents, among others. Private cars can work well in some circumstances and are an important piece of the mobility landscape. Cities that rely heavily on personal vehicles should think through ways to optimize their use.

The role of culture is also much more important to the development of a transport system than we usually assume. A city’s mobility system will ultimately be shaped by its culture and “terroir” and have its own distinctive local flavor. Social attitudes toward public transportation or car culture could be particularly challenging for transportation planners.

London, Helsinki and Singapore get top marks for demonstrating how innovative solutions can create a better and more efficient movement of people and goods around a city via a great multi-modal transport system.

“The Deloitte City Mobility Index stands apart from other such measurement exercises because it places economic prosperity at its core, it takes a holistic view of the city’s mobility landscape, and it is informed by our clear image of how the future of mobility could unfold in urban areas,” said Simon Dixon, Global Transportation Leader, Deloitte UK. “For cities that ranked lower across specific indicators, all is not lost. Given the speed of change and technological trends, there’s an opportunity to radically remake a city’s mobility landscape over the course of the next five or ten years. Cities that rank low today could leapfrog to become leaders in the future of mobility by deploying advanced solutions that solve some of transportation’s perennial problems.”

About the Deloitte City Mobility Index

The Deloitte City Mobility Index is a comprehensive review that assesses major cities on key aspects of mobility and readiness for future mobility solutions (the Future of Mobility). It covers three thematic areas – performance and resilience, vision and leadership, service and inclusion – to gauge whether the transport networks move citizens efficiently, inclusively, sustainably, and in an integrated way, and how forward-thinking and effective the various government bodies are in delivering quality mobility.

Drawing on publicly available data, client conversations, and Deloitte UK’s own analysis, it covers over 60 individual parameters. A total of 18 cities from across the globe will be released in the first wave, selected to represent a variety of sizes by population and area, geography and levels of economic development. An analysis of more than 20 cities is slated to follow and results will be updated annually thereafter.

About Deloitte

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited ("DTTL"), its global network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more.

Deloitte is a leading global provider of audit & assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax and related services. Our network of member firms in more than 150 countries serves four out of five Fortune Global 500® companies. Learn how Deloitte's approximately 264,000 people make an impact that matters at www.deloitte.com.

Meet the leaders

Partner | Deloitte UK

Simon leads Deloitte’s public sector transport business in the UK. As a partner in our People and Programs consulting team, he specializes in the delivery of complex business transformation and capita... More

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (“DTTL”), its global network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL (also referred to as “Deloitte Global”) and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more.